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Sakura pokes him in the elbow. “Sasuke,” she says, “are you alright?”
Sasuke Uchiha, face completely red, sputters, “Yes, absolutely fine.” Which is a lie, but Sasuke isn’t going to admit that he was surprised by Sarada’s proclamation. If he does, then Sakura will never let him live it down—she’ll go on and on about “the signs” and how “it was so obvious” and basically imply that he is an idiot for not recognizing it.
Sarada has already long since left the room, apparently satisfied that her parents don’t care enough to cause her any trouble. Finally, Sasuke manages to gain back control of his body. He mutters, “Of all people—Boruto Uzumaki? Really?” Not that he necessarily has anything against the boy...it’s just that he can’t think of anything that Boruto has going for him, either. He as a person is nowhere near as striking as Inojin or Shikadai, or even Mitsuki. Academically speaking, he’s wonderful—same with his physical abilities...but, really? Boyfriend material? How had Sarada come to such a conclusion?
Sakura snorts at his expression. “Look at how confused you are! You really didn’t see it coming, did you?”
Sensing that the cat is out of the bag, Sasuke says out loud, “Boruto Uzumaki? What’s so great about him?” As the boy’s honorary uncle, that’s probably not a very nice thing to say, but still—he needs to understand.
Sakura sighs, leaning her head against his shoulder. “Sasuke, are you trying to rationalize romance?”
He is. What’s wrong with that? He can rationalize their’s: Sakura is powerful, sweet, stubborn, knowledgable, responsible, and so many other things—and pretty, he can’t forget that she’s pretty. As for Sasuke himself...well, he’s sure that he’s got something because that’s the only explanation for someone as smart as Sakura to marry him. Sarada and Boruto, on the other hand?
Slowly, he comes to the realization that, maybe, Sarada knows something about Boruto that Sasuke doesn’t. She has been spending an awful lot of time with him lately—which is probably why they’ve started dating—so maybe she’s seen things that Sasuke hasn’t.
“I’ve rationalized it,” he declares solemnly, to which Sakura snickers.
“Did you, now?” she breathes. “Look at you go—so smart.”
The smart one has always been Sakura, but he decides not to mention it. Instead, he places his arm around his wife and murmurs, “Thirteen and already dating.”
“Times are changing,” she agrees.
“When I was thirteen…” He grimaces and decides not to finish that sentence. Comparing anyone to his thirteen-year-old self is not a good idea. But, without his consent, his mind does it anyway. At thirteen, Sasuke hadn’t cared for romance at all. Sure, he’d cared for Sakura, but back then it had been in the same way he’d cared for Naruto, and as the years progressed and he slipped deeper and deeper into insanity, he hadn’t felt any different. It was only during the Fourth Shinobi War that he recognized a difference—and even afterward, it had taken him a few more years to comprehend it.
For the entirety of his childhood and most of his teenage years, Sasuke Uchiha had never given romance a thought. And here is his daughter, already dating a boy. “Sakura,” he says, “our daughter is better than I ever was.”
“She got the best parts of both of us.”
Sasuke disagrees. Sarada Uchiha got the best parts of Sakura—the only thing she’d inherited from him other than a physical feature, as far as he can tell, is her innate physical prowess in taijutsu. Her strength, her temperament, and her joy are all Sakura’s handiwork. He also doesn’t say this out loud, because Sakura will immediately deny it. Instead, he says, “Have they really got it all figured out?”
She lifts her head off of his shoulder to stare at him blankly. “Sasuke,” she says, exasperated, “of course they haven’t. They may be well-adjusted, but they’re still thirteen. They’ve got a long way to go, and we’ll be right here to help them along.”
“Am I even qualified to help them?” he asks. Because, really, he hadn’t made a good decision until he was seventeen, and that’s not the kind of example he wants to set for either his daughter or Boruto.
At this, Sakura pokes him again, this time with more force. “Sasuke Uchiha,” she says, “you are an adult who has learned from his mistakes. You are perfectly capable and qualified to provide assistance to others. But, more importantly, you’re Sarada’s father, and Boruto sees you as his uncle. If you leave them high and dry in hard times because you don’t think you’re good enough, I’ll poke you until you do!” She emphasizes this by giving him another, harder poke, huffing in faux rage.
At this, Sasuke gives her a smile. “Sakura,” he says solemnly, “how dare you make me feel better about myself?” Immediately afterward, he swipes for her head, and she lets out a delighted squeal as he presses a kiss firmly to her forehead. “Still managing to be my better half after all these years.”
Sakura pulls back, rolling her eyes. “I’m not you’re better half, I’m just…” She trails off. “Well, I guess I’m an amp because I just amp up your good qualities, same as you do with me!”
“Is that how it works?” Sasuke asks, a smile pulling at the corners of his lips.
She nods vigorously. “Absolutely.”
Sasuke shakes his head, amused. Sakura’s always like this: she showers Sasuke with unrelenting love and affection with every word that rolls off her tongue. In return, he tries his best to do the same—and, when it becomes apparent that he’s nowhere near as good at it as she is, he decides to smother her with physical affection instead. So, he once again pulls her close, wrapping his arms around her body and leaning her head against his chest. She doesn’t protest, instead melting in his embrace.
“Sasuke,” she says, “remember—you’ve come a very long way. You’re a good person and I’m proud to be your wife.”
His chest swells with emotion. “And I’m proud to be your husband.” He presses another kiss to her forehead, and she sighs, content.
-
Sarada Uchiha peaks through the door to the living room. After seeing that her parents are both done conversing about her, she lets out a sigh of relief. Her father hasn’t revealed any weird “if you want to date my daughter you’ll have to go through me” tendencies, and she’s very glad about that.
Slowly, she chews on the rest of the conversation she heard. A small part of her is embarrassed by their behavior, but mostly, she feels joy. Her parents are curled up on the couch, happy with each other, and caring about her.
In her pocket, her phone buzzes, and she quickly pulls it out, scanning the screen. It’s a text from Boruto, containing a picture of Naruto Uzumaki giving a bright thumbs up, Hinata and Himawari doing the same thing (with a bit less energy) right next to him. Immediately afterward, Boruto says, “They approve.”
Sarada smiles and sneaks a quick picture of her parents, who still haven’t moved from the couch. “So do they.”
She really lucked out with her family and friends, hadn’t she? As three dots pop up on the screen, indicating that the conversation is going to carry on, she feels...happy. Completely, unabashedly happy—and she knows that, no matter what happens next, her parents will support her.
Sarada Uchiha texts her boyfriend until late into the night, and her parents don’t say a word, content in the knowledge that their daughter is happy—and so are they.
the end